He rejected the offer of a new contract, citing a desire to live closer to London, however he is now eyeing a switch to the Scottish capital.

The Tynecastle club have already strengthened for their return to the SPFL Premiership with the additions of Gavin Reilly, Blazej Augustyn, Juanma, Igor Rossi Branco and, most recently, World Cup star Juwon Oshaniwa.

They have also shown an appetite to snap up promising youngsters, with Alloa front-man Russell McLean, Canada under-18 internationalist Dario Zanatta, and ex-Crystal Palace kid Jahmal Howlett-Mundle all arriving in the close season.

Neilson recently intimated that the signing of Nigerian defender Oshaniwa could be his last piece of business during this transfer window.

However, the Hearts boss kept his options open by adding: “You can never say never – if something comes up or somebody moves or somebody becomes available it might happen.”

Having come through the ranks at Craven Cottage, Carvalho has since been on the books of Port Vale and Stevenage.

Carvalho is considered a tricky, albeit inconsistent, winger and is a graduate of the Nike Academy scheme, which counts Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic among its alumni.